Folding doors



April 21, 1959 wlcl--ERRELL HoLLANswoRTH 2,882,962

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FOLDING DOORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 14. 1957 @.@WY mi h :Y Egg@.mw

nl Lu Lmwll FOLDDWG DORS McFerrell Hollansworth, Pittsburgh, Pa.,assignor to McKinney Manufacturing Company, a corporation ofPennsylvania Application November 14, 1957, Serial No. 696,367

l1 Claims. (Cl. 160-118) This invention relates to folding doors, andmore particularly to the manner of supporting such doors in doorways.

When a folding door is made from stiff panels that are hinged togetheron a vertical axis, it generally has Ibeen necessary in the past tospace the free edge of the door from the door jamb, or from theadjoining door when two folding doors are hung in the same doorway. Thisis because the width of the door increases slightly when it first startsto open, due to a lining up of the diagonal dimensions of the panels asthey are inclined relative to one another. To allow for this momentaryincrease in width, clearance has had to be left between the free edge ofthe closed door and the adjacent side of the doorway. Although it hasbeen proposed to eliminate this clearance by mounting the jamb onsprings that will allow it to be pushed back when the door starts toopen, that idea is not satisfactory because a door frame is supposed tobe rigid. Also, it cannot be used where a folding door is beinginstalled in a conventional doorway.

lt is among the objects of this invention to provide a folding doorconstruction in which the jambs of the doorway are stationary, in whichthe free edge ofa single door will engage a side of the vdoorway whenthe door is closed, in which double doors will engage each other whenthey are closed, and in which allowance isv made for the temporaryincrease in Width of such a door as it starts to open.

In accordance with this invention, a plurality of door panels are hingedtogether on a vertical axis, and they are disposed in a common verticalplane when the door is closed. At that time one edge of the door isspa-ced a short distance from the adjacent side of the doorway, whilethe opposite edge substantially engages the other side of the doorway orthe edge of a second folding door in the same opening. Projecting fromthe top and bottom ot the door near its first-mentioned edge are pivotpins, on which bearings are mounted. Means are mounted in the doorwayfor holding the bearings in such a way that they can move toward theadjacent side of the doorway, but springs urge them in the oppositedirection. Movable along a track secured to the top of the doorway abovethe door is a guide member that is connected-to the door near its freeedge. As the door is opened, the guide member compels it to fold,whereupon its free edge presses 4against the adjoining door jamb and itsopposite edge is forced toward the opposite side of the doorway, whichis permitted by the spring-pressed bearings. As soon as the door isopened far enough to start to contract in width, the springs push thebearings back to their original positions.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front View of -a closed folding door;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a pair of foldingdoors in a single opening;

2,882,962 Patented Apr. 2l, 1959 Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentaryvertical section through the door construction of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a further enlarged cross section taken on the line V-V of Fig.4;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line VI--VI of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6;and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom view of the doors of Fig. 2,showing the members aligning them at the bottom.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a door is shown formed from aplurality, preferably two, rigid panels 1 and 2. The panels are ratherthick, in the neighborhood of an inch for example. Their adjacent edgesare hinged together by any suitable form of hinges 3 secured to the backof the panels. There is only enough space, i.e. 1/32 inch, between thepanels to prevent the hinges from binding. Screwed into the top andbottom of one panel near its outer edge are upwardly and downwardlyextending pivot pins 4 `and 5 that project into horizontal hinge4brackets 6 and 7, respectively7 secured to the door frame 8. Theopposite or free edge of the door has an upwardly extending hanger orguide member 9 that is slidable back and forth in a horizontal track l@secured to the top of the doorway along the top of the closed door. Whenthe door is opened by pulling on a knob i1 or the like, or by pushing onits opposite side, the guide member Will move along the track and compelthe door to fold. While the door isclosed, its free edge engages ornearly touches the adjoining side of the doorway, Its opposite orpivoted edge, however, is spaced a short distance from the adjacent doorjamb for a purpose that will be explained presently. This space betweenthe door and jamb may be concealed -by a molding strip 12 secured to theside of the doorway in front of the door.

It is a feature of this invention that, as the door starts to fold andincrease. in width for amoment, its pivoted edge can move toward theadjacent side of the doorway to allow the temporary increase in width totake place. For this purpose the' pivot'pins on which the door turns aremounted in bearings that can move toward yand away from the adjacentdoor jamb. Thus, the lower pivot pin S projects down into a ybearing 14that is slidably mounted in sheet metal bracket 7, yas shown in Figs. 3,6 and 7. The brackethas a top. l5 with downwardly extending side flangesi6. Extending upward from the back of the top is an extension strip 17,through which extend screws 18 that fasten the bracket to the door jamb.At the oppo site end of the bracket the bottoms of the side flanges areprovided with inwardly projecting ribs i9, on which the bearing isslidable lengthwise of the bracket. Above the bearing the top of thebracket is provided with a slot 20, also extending lengthwise of thebracket and through which the pivot pin extends down into the bearing.The bearing is prevented from sliding out of the front end of thebracket by a down-turned lug 21 at that end. The bearing is normallyheld against this lug, with the pivot pin near the corresponding end ofthe slot, by means of ia coil spring 22 compressed between the :backofthe bearing .and a tongue 23 extending part way across the back of thebracket from one of its side anges. The free end of the tongue is bentforward and projects'into the coil springy a short distance to'supportthat end of the spring. Consequently, although the slot permits thepivot pin and bearing to be moved toward the `adjacent side of thedoorway, the spring will urgev them backtoward their original position.-atthe` front end of the bracket.

The upper bracket 6 likewise is made of a stripV of sheet metal, but ithas a different shape than the lower one. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, ithas two upper horizontal portions and 26 connected by a depending U-shaped portion 27 that forms a recess between `them. The opposite sidesofthe bottom wall of the recess is turned up to provide short ribs 28that prevent the pin bearing 29, which is disposed in the recess, fromsliding out sideways. a slot 30 that extends lengthwise of the bracket.The upper pivot pin projects through this slot and into the upperbearing, which is urged away from the adjacent side of the doorway by acoil spring 31 compressed between the bearing and the back end of therecess, where the spring can encircle a lug 32 bent out of the bracket.By tapering the bearing upward as Shown in Fig. 5, and inclining ribs 28toward each other, the ribs will prevent the bearing from falling out ofthe bracket before it is installed. From the front end of horizontalportion 26 of the bracket there is a down-turned end portion 35 thatserves as a stop for guide member 9.

The upper bracket is secured in place by wood screws 37 that are screwedinto the doorway above it. The bracket is mounted with its rear endengaging the door jamb, in which position the upper bearing will be thesame distance as the lower bearing from the jamb. .The bracket isconcealed inside of track 10, which is an inverted channel shaped memberas shown in Fig. 5. The bracket screws 37 extend up through the top ofthe track and help hold it in place. The lower edges of the side angesof the track are turned inward toward each other to form horizontalsupports for the head of guide member 9 that is slidable lengthwise ofthe track. As shown in Fig. 4, this member includes a flanged cup 38that is disposed in the track, and a headed screw 39 that is screwedinto the top of the door near its free edge. The cup can move up anddown around the screw to allow for variations in the elevation of thetrack. The screw is encircled by a coil spring 40 compressed between itshead and the bottom of the cup. When the door is folded, this guidemember will move along the track until it engages upper bracket stop 35,which will stop the door with its panels substantially parallel but outof contact with each other so that they will not mar each other, asindicated in broken lines in Fig. 4. By having the distance -om the axisof guide member 9 to the axis of hinges 3 slightly greater than thedistance from the hinge axis to the axis of pivots 4 and 5, the foldeddoors will be swung back toward the adjacent jamb, which improves theappearance of the open doorway.

When the door starts to open, in response to pulling on its knob orpushing on its opposite side, the pivot pins 4 and S will begin to turnin their bearings and the hinges 3 connecting the panels will start tofold. Since the closed door had its free edge substantially engaging oneside of the doorway, initial pivoting of the door,

which increases its overall width by lining up the diagonal dimensionsof the panels, pushes the pivot pins toward the yadjacent side of thedoorway against the resistance of the coil springs. The position of thedoor at the moment of its greatest width is shown in inclined brokenlines in Fig. 4. As the door continues to open, its Width will decreaseand the coil springs will push the bearings and pivots back toward thefront ends 4of the slots in brackets 6 and 7. From then `on the doorwill merely pivot in the bearings as if the bearings were rigidlymounted. Of course, while the door is being opened guide member 9 ismoving along the track. While the door is closing, the door will operatein the ordinary way until its free edge engages the `adjoining side ofthe doorway. Further closing or straightening of the door will thencause the pivot pins and bearings to compress the springs, after whichthe springs Will be allowed to expand again as the panels swing into asingle vertical plane. The use of the springs and sliding pivots notonly permits the free edge of the door to engage the The bottom wall ofthe recess also has ,Y

side of the doorway, but it also holds the door straight when it isclosed, due to the spring pressure against the aligned panels.

This door can be removed from the doorway by folding it and then liftingit enough to remove the lower pivot pin from its bearing. The door isthen tilted to swing its bottom away from the lower bracket so that thedoor can be lowered enough to withdraw its upper pivot from the upperbracket. The door is then moved to the other end of the track to permitguide member 9 to be drawn down through the space between the side ofthe door and the ends of the track supports. Reversal of this procedureis the manner in which the door is installed in the rst place. It istherefore easy to hang. The door 4frame does not have to be cut ormortised.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 2, two folding doorsand S1 are shown in the same doorway 52. Each door is constructed,mounted and operated in the same way as the one just described, exceptthat the free edges of the doors meet each other at the center of thedoorway. To assure perfect alignment of the doors with each other whilethey are closed, means can be provided for aligning their lower edges.This means preferably takes the form of two metal bars, one attached tothe bottom of each door at its free edge as shown in Fig. 8. One bar 53has an arcuate end pointing toward the other door. The other bar 5'4 hasa tapered socket 55 that receives the rst bar. The two bars thereby holdthe bottoms of the doors in alignment, while the tops are held in lineby the overhead track. By oisetting the engaging end portions of the twobars downward away from the doors, any possibility of the end of one barcatching on the lower corner of the adjacent door when the doors areclosed is eliminated.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a doorway, of a folding door constructioncomprising a plurality of panels hinged together on a vertical axis, thepanels being disposed in a common vertical plane when the door is closedand one edge of the door being spaced a short distance from the adjacentside of the doorway, pivot pins projecting from the top and bottom ofthe door near said edge, bearings on the pins, means mounted in thedoorway for holding the bearings for movement toward said adjacent sideof the doorway, springs urging the bearings toward the opposite side ofthe doorway, a track secured to the top of the doorway above the door,and guide means movable along the track and connected to the door nearits free edge for compelling the door to fold as it is opened.

2. The combination with a doorway, of a folding door constructioncomprising a pair of panels hinged together on a vertical axis, thepanels being disposed in a common vertical plane when the door is closedand one edge of the door being spaced a short distance from the adjacentside of the doorway, pivot pins projecting from the top and bottom ofthe door near said edge, bearings on the pins, brackets mounted at thetop and bottom of the doorway and provided with slots receiving saidpins, said slots extending away from said adjacent side of the doorway,a bearing slidably mounted in each bracket and receiving the end of theadjoining pin, springs in the brackets urging the bearings toward theopposite side of the doorway, a track secured to the top of the doorwayabove the door, and guide means movable along the track and connected tothe door near its free edge for compelling the door to fold as it isopened.

3. In the combination recited in claim 2, the upper bracket extendingbeyond the beating therein toward the opposite side of the doorway toform a stop adapted to be engaged by said guide means when the door isopened, whereby to keep the panels of the folded door from touching eachother.

4. In the combination recited in claim 2, said track being an invertedchannel with inturned anges at its bottom, and the upper bracket beingconcealed within the track.

5. The combination with a doorway, of a folding door constructioncomprising a plurality of panels hinged together on a vertical axis, thepanels being disposed in a common vertical plane when the door is closedand one edge of the door being spaced a short distance from the adjacentside of the doorway, pivot pins projecting from the top and bottom ofthe door near said edge, bearings on the pins, means mounted at thebottom of the doorway for holding the lower bearing for movement towardsaid adjacent side of the doorway, a spring urging the lower bearingtoward the opposite side of the doorway, a sheet metal bracket mountedat the top of the doorway above said means and extending lengthwise ofthe door, the bracket having spaced horizontal portions connected by adepending U-shape portion to form an intermediate recess provided withside walls and having a slot in its bottom extending away from saidadjacent side of the doorway and receiving the upper pin, a bearingslidably disposed in said recess and mounted on the upper pin, a springcompressed between said bearing and the end of the recess nearest saidadjacent side of the doorway, a track secured to the top of the doorwayabove the door, and guide means movable along the track and connected tothe door near its free edge for compelling the door to fold as it isopened.

6. The combination with a doorway, of a folding door constructioncomprising a plurality of panels hinged together on a vertical axis, thepanels being disposed in a common vertical plane when the door is closedand one edge of the door being spaced a short distance from the adjacentside of the doorway, pivot pins projecting from the top and bottom ofthe door near said edge, bearings on the pins, means mounted at the topof the doorway for holding the upper bearing for movement toward saidadjacent side of the doorway, a spring urging the upper bearing towardthe opposite side of the doorway, a sheet metal bracket at the bottom ofthe doorway below said means and being provided with an inverted channelextending lengthwise of the door, the top of the channel having a slotin it extending lengthwise of the channel and receiving the lower pin, abearing slidably disposed in said channel and mounted on the lower pin,a spring compressed between said bearing and the adjacent side of thedoorway, a track secured to the top of the doorway above the door, andguide means movable along the track and connected to the door near itsfree edge for compelling the door to fold as it is opened.

7. The combination with a doorway, of a door construction comprising apair of folding doors substantially engaging each other at the center ofthe doorway when the doors are closed, each door being formed from aplurality of panels disposed in a common vertical plane with the outeredge of the door spaced a short distance from the adjacent side of thedoorway, pivot pins projecting from the top and bottom of each door nearsaid outer edge, bearings on the pins, means mounted at both sides ofthe doorway for supporting the bearings for movement toward the adjacentsides of the doorway, springs urging each pair of bearings toward theopposite side of the doorway, a track secured to the top of the doorwayabove the doors, means movable along the track and connected to thedoors near their inner edges for compelling the doors to fold as theyare moved away from each other, and interengageable means carried by thebottoms of the doors beneath their inner edges for holding the bottomsof the doors in line with each other while the doors are closed.

8. In the combination recited in claim l, interengageable means carriedby the bottoms of the doors at their inner edges for holding the bottomsof the doors in line with each other While the doors are closed.

9. In the combination recited in claim 7, said interengageable meansincluding a socket member carried by one door beneath its inner edge,and a projecting member carried by the `other door beneath its inneredge for projection into said socket member when the doors are closed,whereby to hold the bottoms of the doors in line with each other.

10. A folding door hinge bracket adapted to be mounted in a horizontalposition, said bracket comprising a sheet metal strip having spacedhorizontal end portions connected by a depending U-shape portion havinga straight bottom wall provided with a longitudinal slot for receiving adoor pivot pin, upwardly converging anges integral with the oppositeedges of said bottom wall, said end portions being provided withscrew-receiving holes for fastening the bracket in place in a doorway, apivot pin bearing between said anges slidable along said bottom wallabove said slot, the bearing having upwardly converging sidessubstantially engaging the flanges to connect the bearing to said strip,and a spring compressed between one end of the bearing and an adjacentpart of said U-shape portion for urging the bearing toward the oppositeend of the bracket.

11. A folding door hinge bracket according to claim 10, in which saidstrip has a portion extending downward from the outer end of its endportion at said opposite end of the bracket to form a stop for a foldingdoor.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,230,345 Ursom June 19, 1917 1,612,499 Etheredge Dec. 28, 19261,768,267 Phillips June 24, 1930 1,923,787 Larsen Aug. 22, 1933

